In the spring of 2018, the phenomenon of dead Christmas trees began to spread across Canadian fields, first discovered by Anthony Taylor, a forestry professor at the University of New Brunswick.
Since then, Taylor and a team of researchers have been investigating the causes behind the deaths of balsam fir trees, which are popular for Christmas celebrations. After six years of research, Taylor and his co-authors have identified the causes of the die-off in western New Brunswick and eastern Maine as drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. Their findings were recently published in the Frontiers in Forests and Global Change journal.
“Identifying broad-scale climate anomalies, such as drought, associated with the sudden mortality of balsam firs in 2018 could prove useful in predicting future deaths in response to climate change,” the study states.
Taylor expressed shock at the magnitude of the balsam fir tree deaths, noting a significant deterioration affecting large areas of the trees' habitat. “It’s quite abnormal to have such widespread death of these balsam fir trees,” he remarked in an interview with a Canadian website. “And it really stood out.”
Balsam firs account for about 20% of New Brunswick’s total tree population. Thanks to their fragrant scent and triangular shape, these trees are traditionally associated with Christmas. Taylor noted that more than 95% of Christmas trees planted in the province are balsam firs, with around 200,000 exported each year, primarily to the United States.
After monitoring the area, Taylor, along with colleagues James Broom from the University of New Brunswick and Loïc D’Orangeville from Université Laval, began analyzing potential causes for the tree deaths, including pests and climate data.
New Brunswick experienced a drought in 2017, characterized by warm, dry summers and an unusually hot fall. Their analysis revealed that balsam firs are particularly vulnerable to drought and high temperatures. “This dry, warm growing season the year before significantly stressed these trees, leading to their demise in 2018,” Taylor explained.
The team also examined historical data and found a similar weather pattern in 1986, which led to balsam fir deaths due to drought and heat the previous year. “This further reaffirmed our study that climate was indeed driving the mortality we observed,” said Taylor.
Fred Somerville, president of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association, highlighted that balsam firs are among the most popular Christmas trees, alongside Scots pine, white pine, and Fraser fir. He mentioned that balsam firs thrive in cold winters and warm, humid summers. Somerville, who owns a farm in Alliston, Ontario, about 90 kilometers north of Toronto, noted that climate change is causing weather patterns to become increasingly unpredictable.
Somerville pointed out that the lack of rain is killing young trees and newly planted seedlings, while older trees become stunted without adequate water, resulting in the lack of bright green color often desired for Christmas trees.
Matt Wright, a Christmas tree grower from M. Wright Farm & Forest Ltd. in Nova Scotia, echoed these concerns, stating that climate change and heat are impacting most conifers, including balsam firs. “The roots are struggling due to the heat,” he explained, adding that new pests are emerging and attacking the trees.
Taylor emphasized that heat and drought have weakened balsam firs, making them more susceptible to pests and diseases they might normally withstand. He stated that further research is essential to understand how climate change will affect pests and Christmas trees in the future.
To mitigate the impact of climate change, he suggested planting different species to enhance forest resilience and closely monitoring weather patterns. He noted that last year was one of the warmest on record, and 2024 is projected to surpass those temperatures. Taylor concluded that the die-off of balsam fir trees that began in 2018 is likely to occur more frequently as temperatures continue to rise.
